Big Goals, Bold Choices: Elina Landman, Cognitive Psychotherapist And Executive Coach The rich career of Elina Landman, a cognitive psychotherapist and executive coach, has given her a unique insight into the barriers that prevent women from reaching leadership positions.

This article is from a special edition of Entrepreneur Middle East created for the 2024 edition of the Women's Empowerment Convention (WE Convention), staged by the WE Council. Check out the full publication here.

The rich career of Elina Landman, a cognitive psychotherapist and executive coach, has given her a unique insight into the barriers that prevent women from reaching leadership positions. With degrees from a number of notable institutions, including the Institute of Gestalt Therapy and Counseling, the Eastern European Institute of Psychoanalysis and International Business Coaching University, and the Albert Ellis Institute in the USA, she has dedicated her career to helping women overcome several career-related limitations.

According to her, women are naturally self-demanding, and they set high expectations for themselves, which "affects their growth in leadership positions." At the same time, Landman continues, women often suffer from having a fixed mindset. "The bottom line of negative beliefs is to distinguish between two key concepts- a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset," she explains. "While a fixed mindset reinforces our limitations, a growth mindset gives us a chance and faith in ourselves. Research has proven that a growth mindset drives progress. We can outgrow and overcome our limiting beliefs if we reframe them, and stop seeing them as extremes."

So, what step-by-step approach would Landman advise women to take in order to change their fixed mindsets? "Determine which group the limiting belief that you have belongs to," she replies. "According to the author Robert Dilts' classification, limiting beliefs can be divided into three broad categories based on the feelings that a person has- hopelessness, helplessness, and underserving." Once they do this, Landman says that women should work on constructing a new value system for themselves. "I always say that, if we know what failure and disappointment are, then we can have a different experience by noticing where we were satisfied with ourselves. Such stories are difficult to remember, but everyone has them, and they are priceless for working on changes."

Elina Landman, Cognitive Psychotherapist And Executive Coach. Source: Elina Landman.

Finally, as the last step, women should make it a point to confront negative beliefs about themselves. "For example, if a person has difficulty realizing and accepting their abilities, in their success stories, we will definitely find evidence that they indeed possess these abilities." In this way, Landman concludes, the person can demonstrate these abilities, and then react better in future similar situations, leading to a positive outcome.

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Insider Insights: Elina Landman offers tips for maximizing one's productivity

Stop writing your plans; start planning your time "These four points will help you move from internal chaos to clear actions- things that need to be done first, plans that need to be completed without hesitation, what you cannot do, and what you can delegate."

Keep a list every day for two weeks where you answer two questions "The first question is about one action that you will stop doing today, because it interferes with your time management. The second question is about one action that you will immediately start doing, because it helps you manage your planning and feel calm."

Check yourself and your actions once a week "Check yourself by using these five criteria- what gave you strength and energy, what aroused your interest, what inspired you, what important meaning you demonstrate, and what actions you performed at the limit of your abilities and talent."

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